001 – Gratitude

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I’m beginning this new year not with something extraordinary or unique, but with a simple and easy grateful heart. It’s nothing new for me or for anyone to learn to be grateful every day, but it does take practice and effort to keep doing. I’m thankful for my teachers who have shown me the power of gratitude and for my ongoing practice and and the energy that drives me each day.

I have so many things in my life to be grateful for. Listing them all is not important. Consistent attention to just a few things every day is. To that end, today I’m grateful for love. I’m grateful for my breathe and the fresh air I breath. I’m grateful for sunshine in the winter in Portland with it’s warmth and light and for the beautiful blue sky that has graced our city to welcome in the new year.

Finally, with gratitude, I offer you my interpretation of the muditā, or appreciative joy heart meditation.

“May you find happiness and joy.

May the joy you experience continue and grow.

May you be successful and filled with gratitude and non-attached appreciation.”

Thanks Elo! I found travel these growing in the Rose Quarter right by the Moda center on New Year’s Eve. I was surprised to see them growing already and I thought is was a nice juxtaposition between winter and the New Year.